About

$8,225

pledged of $7,500 goal

76

backers

Cortlandt Hull

Story

American screenwriter, narrator, playwright and TV producer Rodman E. "Rod" Serling is best known for hosting the 1950's-60's science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone. On October 30, 1959, the show aired its fifth episode in the series titled "Walking Distance." The story follows a man that unexpectedly travels back in time to his childhood, when he decides to visit his native town of Homewood. Over fifty years have passed and this episode remains one of the more critically acclaimed Twilight Zone episodes of all-time. Influenced by and written around Rod Serling's own home town of Binghamton, NY, the episode includes an iconic carousel which happens to be a complete replica of the one that Serling used to ride as a young boy. The George F. Johnson Recreation Park carousel, built in 1925, still stands today in the city of Binghamton and was recently restored in 2011. With the help of master carver, Bill Finkenstein of WRF Designs, artist and executive director of the Witch's Dungeon Classic Movie Museum in Bristol, CT, Cortlandt Hull, was chosen to paint the panels on the crown above the carousel horses, which include images from some of The Twilight Zone‘s most prominent episodes. This documentary film revisits the restoration process and the inspiration behind it.

Plaque which rests at the Rod Serling carousel in Binghamton, NY

Below: 11x17 Option One (A Stop at Willoughby/Walking Distance)

Below: 11x17 Option Two (It's a Good Life/Time Enough at Last)

Production Stills

Master Carver, Bill Finkenstein

Below: Cortlandt's Nine Panels For The Rounding Boards Found On The Crown Of The Serling Carousel

About the Director:

'The Carousel' is my third documentary film which I've directed thus far. My directorial debut 'Ben Franklin Blowing Bubbles at a Sword: The Journeys of a Mental Athlete' premiered at the 2012 Slamdance Film Festival in the documentary-shorts category and later went on to screen and was awarded an honorable mention at the 2012 Nashville Film Festival. My second documentary-short, 'The Annawan Times,' is set to tour the festival circuit in 2014. For more information direct your attention to my complete bio located on my Kickstarter profile or at 179pictures.com.

Risks and challenges

'The Carousel' comes to Kickstarter!

Kickstarter features a new way to fund creative projects. It's powered by a unique “all-or-nothing” funding method in which projects will not receive any funding (and donors will not be charged) if the set goal is not reached.

In order to tell our story, we need your help! Funds generated from this campaign will be directed towards the production costs of 'The Carousel' which includes equipment, travel expenses, interviews.

The initial campaign of $25,000 included some post-production costs (editing, etc) which came to about $12,000. This campaign won't (include any post costs). We also had to get creative on how and where to save money (in the production) in order to run a successful campaign and fund this film.

Getting this film done is what matters most. When you're not a big studio, you need to sometimes make adjustments and say "what can I do without." I've done that with this campaign.

For post costs, I may launch another campaign when the time comes, edit the project myself or apply for grants. I have some options but most importantly I want to get the production done as soon as possible.

With every pledge, comes rewards! Be sure to check them out and see what may interest you! For 'The Carousel,' we have set a funding goal of $7,500 and have 30 days to reach that goal. If this goal is not reached, we receive nothing - so every contribution counts! No donation is too small or too high!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $50 or more
About $50

DVD copy of the finished film + "Special Thanks" on the film's website AND "Special Thanks" in the film's credits + One autographed (by Cortlandt Hull) 11X17 print copy of Cortlandt's art work for the carousel (Two options to choose from. Each individual print includes two images stacked on top of each other) *DVD copy sent after film festival circuit*

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $100 or more
About $100

Limited Edition - Two Autographed (by Cortlandt Hull and Director) DVD copies of the finished film (One copy will be in color, the other in black and white) + "Special Thanks" on film's website and in the film's credits + One autographed (by Cortlandt Hull) 11X17 print copy of Cortlandt's art work for the carousel (Two options to choose from. Each individual print includes two images stacked on top of each other) *DVD copies sent after film festival circuit*

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $125 or more
About $125

*ATTN FILMMAKERS* - You'll receive Production Assistant credit on IMDB! (we'll find something for you to do in order to be credited!) + One Autographed (by Director and Cortlandt Hull) DVD copy of the finished film + One autographed (by Cortlandt Hull) 11X17 print copy of Cortlandt's art work for the carousel (Two options to choose from. Each individual print includes two images stacked on top of each other) *DVD copy sent after film festival circuit*